Ground zero memorial, an unflinching confrontation with loss

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Photos really are an excellent method to start the "sea change" of reviews that we expect from this commenorative realization.As to Ms. Maureen Dowd, her reputation as a 'head case' is well-documented and well-deserved!

Ah yes, because someone like you probably has a much more artistic idea. What with your candles from target and pictures of your ugly family, I'm sure your home gets mistaken for the sistine chapel all the time

Some people are so unappreciative and small-minded. I wonder, if you say things this thoughtless at all memorials and monuments. "Really, it's just some president sitting in a chair!?...It's just a green lady holding a book?"

Don't you feel the absolute hopelessness portrayed by this memorial? A memorial needs to memorialize a person or an event, but it should not lead the viewer to total despair...that water goes down a big empty hole and.....the what???

The Ground Zero rebuild sounded passable, if not inspiring, until international buffoon Calatrava showed up. Is NYC really naive enough to fall for this guy's one-trick design portfolio?

"The new transportation hub, designed by Santiago Calatrava, will usher hundreds of thousands of people into the city through a white, light-filled, cathedral-like space."

Look at Schumacher's description of Calatrava's NYC work -- sound familar? Just like walking into the Milwaukee Art Museum or ANY of Calatrava's "inspirations." Nearly all of Calatrava's most ballyhooed worldwide work looks and feels identical. EVERY one of his projects come in well over budget and past deadline. As a person, he is widely despised and dismissed by everyone who doesn't fall for his greasy Euro shtick. Yet NYC falls into the same trap Milwaukee did. Too bad he has his hand in something as historically important as a Ground Zero project.

Hey Badger, it's more the guy than the style, though both are very lacking. Be sure to read the brand new JS headline "Calatrava Backs Out of Denver Airport project" posted at 2:30 pm. He's taking off with $13 million of Denver's money halfway through the project because Denver officials were sick of the cost overruns and time delays. Classic Calatrava.

I have to say that I feel conflicted about this memorial, especially the new tower that's being built. Part of me would like to see the whole area redeveloped to at least physically erase the "footprints" of the Towers, to avoid leaving any visible marks of what the attackers did, and continue with life as usual. And yet, I also realize the need to remember and teach future generations about 9/11. I can't say that I love the idea of a new tower. I know it's kind of our middle finger to the world, but I'd hate to see it become a new target for enemies. Regardless, I like the concept behind this memorial. It's the right balance of remembering what was by preserving the craters left by the Towers and celebrating renewal with the trees. If a memorial had to be done, I'm glad it was done this way.

I share some of those feelings. I was shocked by the two large voids. I can't think of a better way, however, to make sure that we truly never forget -- that the pools will carry immediacy even to viewers born long after 2011. They are so much different than, say, statues that may be viewed simply as artwork.

I don't feel the same way as you about the new tower, though I appreciate what I believe you're saying about, well, that middle finger that we saw inspire some fantasy designs about five new lookalike towers. I don't see the new tower as belligerent, nor vulnerable; it shows as recovering and looking ahead to the future.

Having the opportunity to routinely see the site transformed over the last ten years I believe that, ultimately, the site will reflect and appropriately commemorate this tragic event. Nearly everyone has an opinion as to the design and use of the site from totally commercial with no reference to that day to a solemn blank expanse. Though art and architecture rarely benefit from a committee approach the reality of New York's culture and real estate constraints necessitated compromise. The largest current challenge is the ultimate cladding of the base of 1WTC. Constrained by security concerns the concrete buttresses are brutal and how this is transformed will ultimately define the balance of the site. Realistically it will be at least 15-20 years before a true appreciation of the whole site will be apparent. The site will continue to evolve but I'm certain that it will become an iconic homage to both the tragic loss of that day and an inspiring vision for the rebuilding of a city, its people and a nation.

I'm sorry, but in what world does the following quote make sense:It pays homage to its predecessors visually and will rise to a symbolic 1,776 feet.

“1776 is not just a clever number, it’s a date,” said Libeskind, responsible for the master plan, in his Discovery Channel interview. “That’s the date that declared that all people have full human rights, not just Americans, everybody in the world deserves rights, justice.”

A significant portion of the population in the U.S. was considered property or sub human at the time. 1776 was not meaningful for many people and was not a global declaration. If this person knew their history 1804 would be more appropriate (See the Haitian Revolution) or maybe 1948 with the passing of the UDHR.

1776 is meaningful for my Muslim, Jewish, Arab and other friends who are recent arrivals into the U.S. My Muslim friend from Pakistan even cited 1776 as a universal declaration by the United States that everyone has unalienable rights........he is very proud to be an American and 1776 laid the groundwork for his and all American's freedom. Interesting that it takes a Muslim from India to point this out to some jaded, ill-informed Americans!

We have lost 10 years figuratively and literally. Driving into work that day the image of a car in front of me veering off 45 is burned into my mind. It turned out he had the radio news on and was shocked off the highway. Unfortunately, ThinThread has morphed into a the Uber Ear listening to all. We have sacrificed our privacy for a little security. Let's not lose another 10 years; let's look forward and fix what needs to be fixed.

I watched a special the other night that had interviewed architect Michael Ara, and an article in the Boston Globe printed: “This memorial proposes a space that resonates with the feelings of loss and absence . . . ,’’ architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker wrote about their design for the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, which commemorates those who died in all three 2001 attacks as well as the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Arad envisioned the footprints of the Twin Towers as enormous voids, which evolved into sunken pools lined with waterfalls. The memorial complex spreads out over eight acres - encompassing the pavilion of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, more than 400 oak trees, and a grassy glade - about half of the redeveloped World Trade Center site. The memorial plaza forms a green roof over the museum (opening in September 2012), a cavernous underground space that will display monumental artifacts, including ruined fire trucks and the 57-ton concrete “survivor stairs’’ used as an escape route.

j1p Libeskind was responsible for the overall master plan, which I reference above the quote you reference here. We also reference Arad as the designer of the memorial pools. I will, however, insider the word "master" to avoid t he confusion. Thanks for the comment.

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